45 Cards in this Set

Growth of a system in which the amount being added to the system is proportional to the amount already present: the bigger the system is, the greater the increase

logistic growth

both food and disease become important as conditions become crowded. There is an upper limit to the number of individuals the environment can support.

carrying capacity

the maximum, equilibrium number of organisms of a particular species that can be supported indefinitely in a given environment.

interspecific competition

Arising or occurring between species.

niche

competitive exclusion

competitive exclusion

The act of excluding, or of shutting out, whether by thrusting out or by preventing admission; a debarring; rejection; prohibition; the state of being excluded

keystone species

A species whose presence and role within an ecosystem has a disproportionate effect on other organisms within the system. A keystone species is often a dominant predator whose removal allows a prey population to explode and often decreases overall diversity. Other kinds of keystone species are those, such as coral or beavers, that significantly alter the habitat around them and thus affect large numbers of other organisms

Predation

predation describes a biological interaction where a predator species destroys and eats other organisms, known as prey.

predator

predator species destroys and eats other organisms, known as prey.

parasite

an organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host, from the body of which it obtains nutriment.

parasitoid

Any of various insects, such as the ichneumon fly, whose larvae are parasites that eventually kill their hosts.

herbivore

n animal that feeds chiefly on plants

Symbiosis

mutualism (+/+), commensalism (+/0), parasitism (+/-)

Symbiosis

the living together of two dissimilar organisms, as in mutualism, commensalism, amensalism, or parasitism.

mutualism

An association between organisms of two different species in which each member benefits.

commensalisms

A symbiotic relationship between two organisms of different species in which one derives some benefit while the other is unaffected.

parasitism

a relation between organisms in which one lives as a parasite on another.

co evolution

is the mutual evolutionary influence between two species

cryptic coloration

coloring that conceals or disguises an animal's shape

warning coloration

a bold, distinctive pattern of color characteristic of a poisonous or unpalatable organism, as the skunk or the monarch butterfly, that functions as a warning to and defense against predators.

mimicry

the close external resemblance of an organism, the mimic, to some different organism, the model, such that the mimic benefits from the mistaken identity, as seeming to be unpalatable or harmful.

primary succession

the development of plant and animal life in an area without topsoil; the development of biotic communities in a previously uninhabited and barren habitat with little or no soil

pioneer species

is a plant species which colonizes previously uncolonized land, usually leading to ecological succession

climax community

An ecological community in which populations of plants or animals remain stable and exist in balance with each other and their environment. A climax community is the final stage of succession, remaining relatively unchanged until destroyed by an event such as fire or human interference

secondary succession

The gradual and orderly process of ecosystem development brought about by changes in community composition and the production of a climax characteristic of a particular geographic region.

tropical rain forest

A dense evergreen forest with an annual rainfall of at least 406 centimeters (160 inches). Rainforests are often, but not always, located in tropical regions.

savanna

a plain characterized by coarse grasses and scattered tree growth, esp. on the margins of the tropics where the rainfall is seasonal, as in eastern Africa.

temperate grassland

an area, as a prairie, in which the natural vegetation consists largely of perennial grasses, characteristic of subhumid and semiarid climates.

deciduous forest

a type of forest characterized by trees that seasonally shed their leaves

desert

a dry, barren, treeless region, usually sandy: an oasis in a desert. Waste emphasizes lack of inhabitants and of cultivation; it is used of wild, barren land

taiga,

the coniferous evergreen forests of subarctic lands, covering vast areas of northern North America and Eurasia.

tundra

one of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.

freshwater

of or living in water that is fresh or not salt

primary producers

is the production of organic compounds from atmospheric or aquatic carbon dioxide, principally through the process of photosynthesis

carbon cycle

the circulation of carbon atoms in the biosphere as a result of photosynthetic conversion of carbon dioxide into complex organic compounds by plants, which are consumed by other organisms: the carbon returns to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide as a result of respiration, decay by fungi, bacteria, etc., and combustion of fossil fuels

water cycle

the natural sequence through which water passes into the atmosphere as water vapor, precipitates to earth in liquid or solid form, and ultimately returns to the atmosphere through evaporation.

nitrogen cycle

the continuous sequence of events by which atmospheric nitrogen and nitrogenous compounds in the soil are converted, as by nitrification and nitrogen fixation, into substances that can be utilized by green plants, the substances returning to the air and soil as a result of the decay of the plants and denitrification.

phosphorus cycle

is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere

greenhouse effect

an atmospheric heating phenomenon, caused by short-wave solar radiation being readily transmitted inward through the earth's atmosphere but longer-wavelength heat radiation less readily transmitted outward, owing to its absorption by atmospheric carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and other gases; thus, the rising level of carbon dioxide is viewed with concern

ozone depletion

a slow, steady decline of about 4 percent per decade in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratospher

acid rain

precipitation, as rain, snow, or sleet, containing relatively high concentrations of acid-forming chemicals, as the pollutants from coal smoke, chemical manufacturing, and smelting, that have been released into the atmosphere and combined with water vapor: harmful to the environment

desertification

the rapid depletion of plant life and the loss of topsoil at desert boundaries and in semiarid regions, usually caused by a combination of drought and the overexploitation of grasses and other vegetation by people